6 Answers
6

I went with Tasker, it is a bit cheaper (especially when you realize that you are less likely to need plug ins with it, though it can use Locale plug ins it seems), it is trickier to get running, but allows for a much wider range of options than Locale.

So when it sees an SMS come in with "PROBLEM" in the subject, it turns music playback to maximum volume, and then starts playing a song in a loop, until you click on the stop button. I need to add the feature to not trigger again for a few minutes (to deal with the flood issue).

I'd probably set it to do that based on the sender's no. rather than the text asotherwise my family sending me a message asking for help with their PC would be liable to set it off
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Rich SellerAug 4 '10 at 21:09

Tasker is undoubtedly a powerful answer to this and MANY other wants, so you have probably solved your need. I will just add, a good point-solution for this specific need would be Where's My Droid. It is a free app, geared toward finding a misplaced phone. But it would work for this use case as well, with the exception that you don't get to select a custom ringtone.

This can be accomplished with Locale, with a slight tweak to the current setup.

As current described, you have a race condition: Locale is increasing the volume but only after Android has already posted the notification, so the volume increase appears to have no effect.

To get this to work correctly, try the Locale Notification Plug-in to post a separate notification when the text message comes in. The Notification Plug-in has a "force volume" option that will turn the volume up and ensure the notification is heard.

Why not just use Handcent SMS and configure a custom "loud" ringtone for that particular sender. you can also configure the app to repeat the alert every X minutes, so you keep getting reminded until you dismiss the alert.

In Handcent, open the conversation thread you want to customise and click the Personalization icon (in the top bar, to the right of the name of the person). you can then set different notification icon / ringtone / vibrate pattern and LED settings (if your device has one).

You could try using Setting Profiles. This allows you to designate some contact groups so the volume is increased when they call. I'm not sure if this also works with SMS or email, but there are many activation rules that might combine to suit your needs.

If you don't fancy paying, there is a 'Lite' version that lets you define a single profile. That may be enough for your needs.